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Dear Racists, Black People Exist. Get Over It.

When the new “Star Wars” teaser trailer was released last week, some viewers complained that actor John Boyega shouldn’t be a storm trooper. Why? Because only white people are storm troopers, of course!

The Atlantic went on to crush those cold, racist claims in an analyzation of past “Star Wars” characters and origins. The poor actor himself went on to subtly and symbolically flip off the nay-sayers on his Instagram account.

I grew up watching the original “Star Wars” trilogy. My childhood and adolescence directly fell during the release of the prequels in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. I’ve seen these films time a time again and while I know that the people who used their supposed “Star Wars” knowledge to defend their racism, I can’t get past a few things.

1. This is a franchise with characters like this

2. And this

3. And this guy

4. But this man

couldn’t exist as a storm trooper?

In a world that was created out of imagination, anything should be possible. And it IS possible. That’s why John Boyega landed the role and that’s why thousands of people have supported him and will continue to do so. He is one person of color who was able to break through that Hollywood race barrier and his representation in a multi million dollar production will reach thousands, perhaps millions, of young people of color, aspiring to be actors.

What do you think?

Have you ever heard someone give a ridiculous excuse for their racism?